No. 23 Women's Soccer Defeats No. 25 MidAmerica Nazarene at Home

Marshall, Mo., (Oct. 4, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's soccer teams hosted MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) in a pair of top 25 contests Wednesday evening inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The No. 23 women's team overcame an early deficit for a 2-1 victory over No. 25 MidAmerica Nazarene, while the No. 20 men's team held off the No. 7 Pioneers in a 1-0 win.

The women's game opened with an early goal from MidAmerica Nazarene, creating a breakaway opportunity, which resulted in a 1-0 deficit for the Vikings with less than eight minutes played in the contest.  Missouri Valley worked back and created its first quality chance as Freshman Defender Hana Kinami (Tokorozawa, Japan) put a shot on target that was saved seven minutes later.  The Pioneers nearly added to their lead just past the 16-minute mark, but Freshman Goalkeeper Lola Benitez (Madrid, Spain) made her first save of the night.  Missouri Valley followed with possession in the MNU box, and Sophomore Forward Ashley Arribas (Lake Forest, Calif.) put a shot towards goal, but her attempt was saved off the line by a MidAmerica Nazarene defender.  The two teams traded possession over the next stretch of play, until the 29-minute mark.  The Vikings worked towards the MNU box, and Sophomore Midfielder Carla Carmona (Barcelona, Spain) received a pass from Arribas near goal.  Carmona put her shot from five-yards out past the keeper and tied the teams at 1-1.  Just over four minutes later, the pair of Carmona and Arribas worked another chance, this time Carmona sent a through ball towards Arribas, who earned a breakaway chance, putting her shot into the lower-left corner to give Missouri Valley a 2-1 advantage.  Benitez came up with one more save in the closing minutes of the half, and sent MVC into the break on top, 2-1.

The second half started with a chance from the Pioneers with just over five minutes played that was saved once again from Benitez.  MidAmerica Nazarene worked another chance midway through the half, but Benitez came up with a save.  The only shot on goal for MVC in the second half came on a header from Carmona that was saved near the 75-minute mark.  The Pioneers held the majority of possession through the final stretch of play but the MVC defense did not allow another shot on goal to finish out a 2-1 victory.

Arribas scored her sixth goal of the season, and added her first assist.  She now has a team-high 13 points and four game-winning goals.  Carmona added her second goal and second assist.  Benitez made four saves in goal.

Missouri Valley improves to 6-3-2 overall and 5-0 in the Heart.  MidAmerica Nazarene drops to 4-5-1 on the season and 2-3 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking soccer teams will host Baker (Kan.) in a Heart doubleheader Saturday afternoon inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  Women's game at 1 p.m., followed by the men's game at 3:30 p.m.

Box Score-Click Here

About Missouri Valley College

Known for its dynamic, richly diverse, and friendly educational environment, Missouri Valley College offers many opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Grounded in the liberal arts, undergraduate studies empower students to master interdisciplinary skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based global society. MVC offers over 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.